taxes September 15, 2019

The partial shutdown of the federal government may delay refunds of income tax payments, but taxes are still due April 15th. In addition, the tax reform enacted in 2018 is now in effect which brings numerous changes for everyone filing. Important things… [Read more…]

The partial shutdown of the federal government may delay refunds of income tax payments, but taxes are still due April 15th. In addition, the tax reform enacted in 2018 is now in effect which brings numerous changes for everyone filing.
Important things to know as employers begin sending out W-2 and 1099 forms:
The standard deduction has almost doubled to $12,000 for … [Read more…]

The Democrats now control the House of Representatives, and their more radical members have wasted little time in putting forward a slew of the most progressive policy proposals. At present, the idea receiving the most coverage from talking heads on television and the Twitter accounts at Vox has been freshman Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s proposal to raise the top … [Read more…]

This past week, State Treasurer Josh Mandel partnered with Bitpay to make Ohio the first state to accept cryptocurrency for business taxes. Treasurer Mandel told CNBC the move was designed “to plant the flag in Ohio as a national and international leader in blockchain technology,” adding that it increases “options and ease” for taxpayers and opens the door to tech firms and … [Read more…]

With the recent blue wave of Democratic success in retaking the House of Representatives, we are likely to see a return of many policy proposals typically associated with the left side of the political aisle. One of those proposals is surely to include a carbon tax of some kind. Proponents argue that the carbon tax -- especially one that is made revenue-neutral by a reduction … [Read more…]

Maybe. Then again, probably not, and definitely not all on its own.
We are now ten years removed from the beginning of the financial crisis that would become the Great Recession, and after all that time the mainstream explanation for the crisis can be summed up in one word: deregulation.
But, what deregulation? That is where the stories get more complicated. One theory … [Read more…]

As President Trump's trade war with China continues, weakening relations between the two powerful states have already begun exacerbating tensions between U.S. and Chinese interests in other realms of geopolitics. Diplomatic spats about how the United States views Taiwan, and a looming standoff between the Chinese and the U.S.-led Pacific forces that challenge China's claimed … [Read more…]

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a report earlier this year titled “The Distribution of Household Income, 2014.” The report analyses a mountain of data from 2014, looking for trends in the distribution of income, taxation, transfers from federal government programs, inequality, and so on. Basically, the report looks at the actual data behind every argument brought … [Read more…]

The Associated Press (AP) reports the federal budget deficit swelled to $779 billion in FY 2018, the largest level since 2012 and 17 percent higher than FY 2017. Additionally, the Treasury Department forecasts the deficit will increase again in FY 2019, to over $1 trillion—the first time since 2012 the federal deficit would top the trillion-dollar mark.
AP and other outlets … [Read more…]

Previously unreported data from the Department of Defense released this summer shows that the average American taxpayer has spent $7,500 on the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria, since the beginning of the Global War on Terror in 2001.
That means this fiscal year, your average taxpaying American citizen will spend about $289 on wars overseas.
The data, first reported … [Read more…]

Despite widespread accusations of being a burden on the hardworking public's tax dollar, most refugees actually end up paying thousands more in taxes than they receive in government handouts from the US.
A new study from the National Bureau of Economic Research found that refugees who entered the US as adults from 2010-14 paid, on average, $21,000 more in taxes than they got … [Read more…]

KABUL—Afghanistan is cracking down on tax evasion to repair its finances as the country’s economy struggles with renewed violence and the withdrawal of the huge coalition presence that fed business for years.
The departure of most foreign troops two years ago allowed the Taliban to take advantage of the security vacuum and escalate attacks on the government, hurting consumer … [Read more…]

The commander of the California National Guard reportedly cannot locate more than 4,000 of the some 9,700 soldiers involved in the enlistment bonus scandal.
In a memo obtained by the Los Angeles Times on Monday, Maj. Gen. David Baldwin said the California National Guard needed help finding thousands of soldiers who received alleged improper bonuses or other benefits during … [Read more…]